New technologies in the information and communications arena, especially the Internet, have been seen as ushering in a new age. And yet, access to new ICTs is still a faraway reality for the vast majority of people. The countries of the South, particularly rural populations, have largely been left out of the information revolution, due to a wide range of barriers including the absence of basic infrastructure and lack of demonstrated benefit from ICTs to address ground-level development challenges. These barriers pose even greater problems for women, who are more likely to be illiterate and not know English, and lack opportunities for training in computer skills. Moreover, although ICTs have brought employment gains for many women, patterns of gender segregation are being reproduced in the information economy where men hold the majority of high-skilled jobs, and women are concentrated in the low-skilled jobs. There is clearly a need to address the gender dimensions of the information society, particularly to integrate gender perspectives into national ICT policies and strategies and promote women's economic participation in the information economy. Engendering ICTs is not merely about greater use of ICTs by women. It is about transforming the ICT system. This report forms part of the Cutting Edge Pack on Gender and ICTs.

New technologies in the information and communications arena, especially the Internet, have been seen as ushering in a new age. And yet, access to new ICTs is still a faraway reality for the vast majority of people. The countries of the South, particularly rural populations, have largely been left out of the information revolution, due to a wide range of barriers including the absence of basic infrastructure and lack of demonstrated benefit from ICTs to address ground-level development challenges. These barriers pose even greater problems for women, who are more likely to be illiterate and not know English, and lack opportunities for training in computer skills. Moreover, although ICTs have brought employment gains for many women, patterns of gender segregation are being reproduced in the information economy where men hold the majority of high-skilled jobs, and women are concentrated in the low-skilled jobs. There is clearly a need to address the gender dimensions of the information society, particularly to integrate gender perspectives into national ICT policies and strategies and promote women's economic participation in the information economy. Engendering ICTs is not merely about greater use of ICTs by women. It is about transforming the ICT system. This report forms part of the Cutting Edge Pack on Gender and ICTs.